Food Tray Heater

ABSTRACT

A collapsible food tray heater is disclosed wherein the food tray heater has solid sidewalls to block wind from blowing out a fire source when the collapsible food tray heater is used outdoors especially during windy conditions. Additionally, the solid walls of the collapsible food tray heater retain the heat within the heater to keep the food in the food tray hotter compared to prior art chafing dishes. The collapsible food tray heater may be collapsed such that the collapsed food tray heaters may be stacked upon each other for convenient storage and transport.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

The improved food tray heater is related to a chafing dish.

Chafing dishes are typically used during a dinner buffet or when a caterer comes to a person's home to serve a hot meal. The chafing dish may be placed on top of racks or platforms or sit on legs to raise a food tray above a heat source to keep the food in the food tray warm during food service.

Some of the problems associated with modern day chafing dishes relate to the transportability, storage and ease of use when caterers must quickly set up and disassemble the food service area.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The improved heater disclosed herein addresses the needs discussed above, those discussed below and those that are known in the art.

The improved food tray heater may have two solid sidewalls and two solid end walls attached to each other so as to form a rectangular configured enclosure. The food tray may be disposed or rest upon upper end portions of the end walls and sidewalls to support the food tray above a heat source disposed within the improved food tray heater and disposed below the food tray. The heat source introduces heat into the food tray and food to keep the food warm during food service. Since the end walls and sidewalls are solid and block wind, the improved food tray heater may be used outdoors during windy conditions.

Since the heat source used to heat the food tray is typically a can of fuel or other flame, oxygen must be continuously introduced within the cavity of the improved food tray heater to prevent snuffing out the heat source (e.g., chafing fuel, flame, etc.). One or more of the end walls and sidewalls may have cut outs to supply oxygen to the heat source to prevent the flame of the heat source from being put out.

The improved food tray heater may also be collapsed into a convenient flat configuration. A plurality of collapsed food tray heaters may be stacked upon each other for convenient storage and transport. More particularly, the end walls of the improved food tray heater may be collapsed inwardly between the sidewalls of the improved food tray heater. When the end walls are collapsed inwardly, the sidewalls are traversed closer to each other until the collapsed food tray heater forms the generally flat configuration. To erect the improved food tray heater from the collapsed position, the sidewalls may be spread apart until the end walls are fully extended. Thereafter, a fuel tray may be rotated from a vertical position to a horizontal position and wedged between the end walls. This prevents any inadvertent collapse of the improved food tray heater since the end walls may be collapsed inwardly only when the tray is wedged against the end walls.

It is also contemplated that a spacer may be disposed on the upper end portions of the end walls and/or sidewalls to accommodate a smaller food tray. As such, the improved food tray heater provides for a versatile unit that can hold or support multiple food tray sizes without requiring an entirely separate unit.

A collapsible food tray heater may comprise a first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall and second solid end wall. The first solid sidewall may define opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions. Also, the second solid sidewall may define opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions. The first solid end wall may define opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions which are hinged to the first vertical portions of the first and second sidewalls. The first solid end wall may define first and second halves hinged to each other for collapsing the food tray heater. The second solid sidewall may define opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions which are hinged to second vertical portions of the first and second sidewalls. The second end wall defines first and second halves hinged to each other to collapse the food tray heater for convenient storage and transport.

The upper portions of the first sidewall, second sidewall, first end wall and second end wall may be sized and configured to support outwardly extending flanges of the first food tray when the food tray heater is in a deployed configuration. The first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall and second solid end wall may collectively block wind from entering within a cavity defined by the first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall and second solid end wall to retain heat within the cavity when the food tray heater is in the deployed configuration.

Two or more of the lower portions of the first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall and second solid end wall may support the collapsible food tray heater when the food tray heater is in the deployed configuration.

The first and second end walls may fold toward each other for collapsing the food tray heater.

A fuel tray may be traversable between a horizontal position and a vertical position. The fuel tray may be wedged between two solid end walls when the fuel tray is disposed in the horizontal position. The two solid end walls are foldable at the hinge when the fuel tray is disposed at the vertical position.

It is also contemplated that the collapsible food tray heater may further comprise a spacer disposable upon upper portions of the first sidewall and second sidewall and/or the upper portions of the first end wall and second end wall for receiving a second food tray size which is smaller compared to the first food tray size. The spacer may comprise two inverted channels generally parallel to each other. The two inverted channels may receive the opposed upper horizontal portions of the first and second sidewalls or the opposed upper horizontal portions of the first and second end walls. Two collapsible arms may extend and be attached between two inverted channels of opposed end portions for collapsing the spacers to a compact configuration when not in use.

One or more of the first sidewall, second sidewall, first end wall and second end wall may have a cut out at the lower horizontal portion for providing oxygen into the cavity during use. This provides oxygen to the fuel source. Also, opposed first and second sidewalls or opposed first and second end walls may have cut outs at the lower horizontal portions for providing a handle to carry the food tray heater and/or for providing oxygen into the cavity during use.

An exterior surface of the first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall and second solid end wall may have a rust resistant coating or powder coating finish to prevent fingerprint marks. Also, the first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall and second solid end wall may be fabricated from a steel material or other suitable material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible chafing disc heater;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a collapsed collapsible chafing dish heater;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a collapsible chafing dish heater with a spacer;

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the spacer shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the collapsible chafing dish heater with a tray for supporting a heat source disposed in a vertical position;

FIG. 6 is a collapsed spacer shown in FIG. 4 and;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a tray support shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a collapsible chafing dish heater 10 is shown. The chafing dish heater 10 may support a food tray 12 above one or more heat sources 14 for heating the food in the food tray 12 during food service. The heat sources 14 provide heat to the food within the food tray 12 such that guests at a buffet line may enjoy a warm meal. The end walls 16 a, b and sidewalls 18 a, b circumscribe the heat source 14 and have a solid configuration to block wind from blowing out the heat source 14 (e.g., fire flame). Additionally, since the end walls 16 and sidewalls 18 prevent movement of air, the air within the chafing dish heater 10 remains heated to aid in the warming of the food tray 12 and food disposed therein. After use, the chafing dish heater 10 may be conveniently knocked down to a collapsed configuration as shown in FIG. 2. Multiple collapsed chafing dish heaters 10 may be stacked upon each other for transport and/or storage. For smaller trays or two half trays 12 a (see FIG. 3), a spacer 20 may be disposed on top of the chafing dish heater 10 to support the smaller food tray or two half trays 12 a. The spacer 20 may also be collapsed as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the chafing dish heater 10 and spacer 20 disclosed herein provides for a versatile chafing dish heater 10 that can accommodate multiple sizes of food trays 12 and 12 a, is capable of being used outside or in windy environments, retains heat thereby keeping food hotter and is collapsible for convenient transport and storage.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the chafing dish heater 10 may comprise two sidewalls 18 a, b. These sidewalls 18 a, b may have an inwardly directed lip 22 at opposed ends of the sidewalls 18 a, b. Hinges 24 may be attached to the lip 22 at all four corners of the heater 10 for the purposes of collapsing the chafing dish heater 10 as will be discussed further below. Two hinges 24 may be attached (e.g., riveted, tack welded, etc.) to each of the lips 22. One hinge 24 may be located at the upper portion of the lip 22 and the second hinge 24 may be located at the lower portion of the lip 22.

The end walls 16 a, b of the chafing dish heater 10 may have first halves 26 a, b and second halves 26 a, b and 28 a, b. The first and second halves 26 a, 28 a may pivot with respect to each other via hinge 30. Likewise, although not shown, the first and second halves 26 b, 28 b of the end wall 16 b may pivot with respect to each other via a hinge 30 (not shown in FIG. 1). The hinges 30 connecting the first and second halves 26 a, 28 a and first and second halves 26 b, 28 b may be located on the exterior of the end walls 16 a, b. Additionally, the hinges 24 may be located on the interior of the lip 22 and the respective first and second halves 26 b, 28 b, 26 a, 28 a. This arrangement for the hinges 24, 30 allow the first and second halves 26 b, 28 b and 26 a, 28 a to collapse the end walls 16 a, b inwardly but not outwardly. The first and second halves 26 a, 28 a of end wall 16 a may lie in the same plane (see FIG. 1) or may be collapsed inwardly (see FIG. 2). Likewise, the first and second halves 26 b, 28 b of the end wall 16 b may line the same plane or be traversed inwardly for collapsing the chafing dish heater 10.

The chafing dish heater 10 may have a tray 32 with one or more holes 34 (see FIG. 5) for receiving the heat sources 14. The tray 32 may be disposed in the horizontal position as shown in FIG. 1 or traversed to the vertical position, as shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, a thickness 35 of the tray 32 may be equal to or less than a thickness 36 of the lip 22. The end walls 16 a, b may be collapsed inward without interference with the tray 32 (see FIG. 2) when the tray 32 is in the upright vertical position. When the end walls 16 a, b are fully collapsed as shown in FIG. 2, the chafing dish heater 10 is fully collapsed and may be conveniently stored, stacked or transported.

The tray 32 may be hinged to the lip 22 on both ends of sidewall 18 b. (Compare FIGS. 1 and 5). By way of example and not limitation, the tray 32 may have leg supports 38 (see FIG. 1) that is pinned to the lips 22. When the tray 32 is traversed to the vertical position, the tray 32 bumps up against the sidewall 18 b which prevents further rotation, as shown in FIG. 5. When the tray 32 is traversed to the horizontal position (see FIG. 1), the tray 32 rests upon tray supports 40 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The tray supports 40 are formed on end walls 16 a, b. The tray supports 40 may have a U-shaped cross sectional configuration which receives a portion of the tray 32. More particularly, the tray 32 may be fabricated with a top plate 42 and four (4) flanges 44 a-d. The flanges 44 a, c may be received within the U-shaped tray supports 40 formed at end walls 16 a, b, as shown in FIG. 7. A length 46 of the tray 32 may be approximately equal to a distance between the end walls 16 a, b when the end walls 16 a, b are in the erected position. When the tray 32 is traversed to the horizontal position (see FIG. 1), the tray 32 is wedged against the end walls 16 a, b to provide a solid and generally rigid chafing dish heater 10. The flanges 44 a, c are received in tray supports 40 formed in the end walls 16 a, b. The end walls 16 a, b and the flanges 44 a, c may be wedged against each other. The tray supports 40 are formed to have a smooth lower surface such that a person may grab the underside of the tray supports 40 and lift the chafing dish heater 10. The end walls 16 a, b may have cut outs 48 a, b that permit air to flow into the chafing dish heater 10 to provide oxygen to the heat sources 14. Additionally, the sidewalls 18 a, b may have cut outs 48 a, b for providing air to the heat sources 14.

As discussed above, the end walls 16 a, b may be collapsed inwardly but not outwardly. When the fuel tray 32 is traversed to the horizontal position, the fuel tray 32 is wedged between the end walls 16 a, b. However, it is also contemplated that the end walls 16 a, b may be collapsed inwardly and/or outwardly with hinges. In this embodiment, when the fuel tray 32 is traversed to the horizontal position, the flanges 44 a, c are received within the tray supports 40, as shown in FIG. 7. The tray supports 40 interlock with the flanges 44 a, c to prevent outward collapsing of the end walls 16 a, b.

In certain circumstances, a smaller food tray or two half trays 12 a is used. However, it would be inconvenient to carry two different sized chafing dish heaters 10 to accommodate large food trays 12, smaller food trays and two half trays 12 a. To this end, the spacer 20 (see FIG. 3) may be mounted to the chafing dish heater 10 to accommodate smaller food trays or two half trays 12 a. The spacer 20, as shown in FIG. 6, may have two (2) channels 50 a, b that are maintained in spaced relationship with each other via collapsible support members 52 a, b. Each of the support members 52 a, b may be hinged to the channels 50 a, b. Also, each of the support members 52 a, b may define first and second halves 54 a, b and 56 a, b. The first and second halves 54 a, 56 a of the support member 52 a may be pivoted with respect to each other via hinge 58. Also, the first and second halves 54 b, 56 b of the support member 52 b may be pivoted with respect to each other via hinge 57. The hinges 58, 57 permit the support members 52 a, b to be collapsed inwardly only. However, it is also contemplated that the support members 52 a, b may be hinged so as to be collapsible such that the support members 52 a, b may extend inwardly or outwardly. When the spacer 20 is fully extended, the outer edges 60, 62 of the channels 50 a, b may be snug against the sidewalls 18 a, b as shown in FIG. 3. The top opening of the chafing dish heater 10 is reduced to accommodate the smaller food tray or two half trays 12 a.

From the setup position or erected position, the chafing dish heater 10 may be collapsed in the following manner. First, the tray 32 is traversed from the horizontal position (see FIG. 1) to the vertical position (see FIG. 5). With the tray 32 in the vertical position, the end walls 16 a, b are collapsed by pushing the hinges 30 inwardly in the direction of arrows 60 a, b (see FIG. 5). The chafing dish heater 10 is then traversed to the configuration shown in FIG. 2. Multiple chafing dish heaters 10 may be collapsed and stacked upon each other for easy transport and storage. If the spacer 20 is used in conjunction with the chafing dish heater 10, prior to collapsing the chafing dish heater 10, the spacer 20 is removed and collapsed to the configuration shown in FIG. 6.

The end walls 16 a, b and sidewalls 18 a, b may be coated with a rust resistant coating and/or a powder coating finish to prevent unsightly fingerprint marks. The powder coating finish provides an attractive and durable aesthetic appeal to the chafing dish heater 10. The chafing dish heater 10 and the spacer 20 may be fabricated from a steel material or other materials suitable for the design disclosed herein.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of hinging the various parts. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A collapsible food tray heater comprising: a first solid side wall defining opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions; a second solid side wall defining opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions; a first solid end wall defining opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions which are hinged to first vertical portions of the first and second side walls, the first solid end wall defining first and second halves hinged to each other for collapsing the food tray heater; a second solid end wall defining opposed upper and lower horizontal portions and opposed first and second vertical portions which are hinged to second vertical portions of the first and second side walls, the second end wall defining first and second halves hinged to each other to collapse the food tray heater for convenient storage and transport; wherein the upper portions of the first side wall, second side wall, first end wall and second end wall are sized and configured to support outwardly extending flanges of a first food tray when the food tray heater is in a deployed configuration, and the first solid side wall, second solid side wall, first solid end wall and the second solid end wall collectively blocks wind from entering within a cavity defined by the first solid side wall, second solid side wall, first solid end wall and the second solid end wall to retain heat within the cavity when the food tray heater is in the deployed configuration.
 2. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 wherein two or more of the lower portions of the first solid side wall, second solid side wall, first solid end wall and the second solid end wall support the collapsible food tray heater when the food tray heater is in the deployed configuration.
 3. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 wherein the first and second end walls fold toward each other for collapsing the food tray heater.
 4. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 further comprising a fuel tray traversable between a horizontal position and a vertical position, the fuel tray being wedged between the two solid end walls when the fuel tray is disposed in the horizontal position, the two solid end walls being foldable at the hinge when the fuel tray is disposed at the vertical position.
 5. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 further comprising a spacer disposable upon upper portions of the first side wall and the second side wall and/or the upper portions of the first end wall and second end wall for receiving a second food tray size which is smaller compared to the first food tray.
 6. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 5 wherein the spacer comprises: two inverted channels generally parallel to each other, the two inverted channels receive the opposed upper horizontal portions of the first and second side walls or the opposed upper horizontal portions of the first and second end walls; two collapsible arms extending and attached between the two inverted channels at opposed end portions for collapsing the spacer to a compact configuration when not in use.
 7. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 wherein one or more of the first side wall, second side wall, first end wall and second end wall has a cut out at the lower horizontal portion for providing oxygen into the cavity during use.
 8. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 wherein opposed first and second side walls or opposed first and second end walls have cut outs at the lower horizontal portions for providing a handle to carry the food tray heater.
 9. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 wherein an exterior surface of the first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall and second solid end wall have a rust resistant coating or a powder coating finish to prevent fingerprint marks.
 10. The collapsible food tray heater of claim 1 wherein the first solid sidewall, second solid sidewall, first solid end wall, and second solid end wall are fabricated from a steel material. 